Alexandra Eala made a statement on her Italian Open return. The 20-year-old from the Philippines dispatched Magdalena Frech 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 on Wednesday at the Foro Italico, clinching her first-ever main-draw victory in Rome.
The opening set was complete domination. Eala overwhelmed her Polish opponent in barely twenty-five minutes, breaking Frech three times without dropping a game. The world number 42 was aggressive from the baseline and left her rival no breathing room.
Frech regrouped in the second set, raising her level significantly. Eala's intensity dipped and errors crept in as the Pole leveled the match at one set apiece with a 6-3 win. The decider would settle things.
The third set looked ominous for Eala when she was broken early and trailed 1-3. But the Filipino showed remarkable composure, winning four of the next five games to turn the match around and seal a 6-4 victory that sent the crowd home with a story to remember.
Eala, who lost in the first round on her Rome debut last year, is projected to climb the WTA rankings following this result. She will next face No. 31 seed Wang Xinyu in the second round, a challenging but not insurmountable draw after the form she showed today.
